Intriguingly, although exosomal CLEC3B down-regulated the migration and invasion of HCC cells and ECs in a similar manner, inhibition of p-AMPK conferred no significant effect on CLEC3B-mediated EMT, migration or invasion in HCC cells (Additional file 12: Figure S9C-S9F), indicating that there might be some other pathways critical for the effects of exosomal CLEC3B on EMT. Here, CLEC3B is linked to hepatocellular carcinoma.